“Many people consider sales to be a separate activity from marketing. Major corporations keep their sales and marketing departments separate. Many organizations have two divisions with the positions of Sales Director and Marketing Director. They work together and collaborate in the organizational structure in an “equal” and equal way, reporting to the CEO.”
Some businesses merge marketing and sales into one space and refer to it as the sales department, but at the head of these two departments in the sales department are also two independent and equal department heads.
It is clear that according to the practice of organizational structure, the two activities of Sales and Marketing are independent and peer; no activity is the “boss” of any activity, and no department head is superior to the head of the department. No one reports to anybody, but both parties submit their work to their superiors, which, depending on the firm, may be the General Director or CEO, the Sales Director, the Deputy General Director in charge of the business, or both.
Because of this fact, many people consider Marketing and Sales to be two independent activities, similar to Marketing and Finance (although related to each other).
According to the popular definition and understanding of Marketing, Sales are a part of Marketing, under Marketing, and not separate from Marketing. Marketing is a cross-cutting process, going from market research, understanding needs, creating products, bringing them to market, promoting products, selling to customers to satisfy their needs, and continuing to care. Customer care, building relationships with customers, developing customers… Therefore, the Marketing process includes both sales and customer care. In other words, sales and customer care are an integral part of the Marketing process.
Why do businesses, especially big ones, consistently divide marketing and sales into two different divisions (blocks, departments)? Simply because sales activities are crucial and take place in the “field,” where they are closer to clients, consumers, and rival businesses. A force on the battlefield is the sales force. General of sales is the “commander general” at the front, facing several hardships and difficulties, confronting the opposition day and night, and devoting day and night to each “front,” each “fight,” and each region to win.
Marketing focuses on investigating and figuring out what to sell (items), whom to sell to (target consumers), how much to charge (pricing), where to sell (market, distribution system, distribution channel), and how to promote (like the general staff) (advertisement, promotion…).
Due to the importance of both operations from an organizational standpoint, the organizations are divided into two “generals” in charge of independent, peer-to-peer reporting to the CEO (or deputy general director in charge of business) (or Deputy General Director in charge of business).
Why do businesses, especially big ones, consistently divide marketing and sales into two different divisions (blocks, departments)? Simply because sales activities are crucial and take place in the “field,” where they are closer to clients, consumers, and rival businesses. A force on the battlefield is the sales force. General of sales is the “commander general” at the front, facing several hardships and difficulties, confronting the opposition day and night, and devoting day and night to each “front,” each “fight,” and each region to win.
Marketing focuses on investigating and figuring out what to sell (items), whom to sell to (target consumers), how much to charge (pricing), where to sell (market, distribution system, distribution channel), and how to promote (like the general staff) (advertisement, promotion…).
Due to the importance of both operations from an organizational standpoint, the organizations are divided into two “generals” in charge of independent, peer-to-peer reporting to the CEO (or deputy general director in charge of business) (or Deputy General Director in charge of business).
It is essential to remember that these two departments are tightly connected, not distinct, and they support one another even though they are two independent and equal pieces. Marketing creates strategy, develops, directs, and supports communication and branding to increase sales significantly. The sales staff is responsible for covering the inventory, setting up various products (SKU distribution) at merchants, and aesthetically presenting them at the points of sale. To help the marketing efforts and the business succeed, they must excel at the point of sale and treat their consumers well.
If you imagine sales as combat, marketing must facilitate the flow of the action and equipment of sales in the front. Conversely, marketing must “bomb” them with communications, events, PR, and advertising when sales are under attack. Moreover, on the battlefield, sales must act swiftly and decisively.
Do not forget that sales also play a crucial part in capturing the market, gathering data on clients, clients, consumers, rivals, and consumer trends, and responding to marketing by providing information so that marketing may react or change strategy as necessary. Moreover, sales frequently involve a solid and extensive force. The sales teams of large firms, which might number in the thousands and operate across regions, are positioned closer to the market, have access to more information, and have a deeper understanding of clients and consumers.
Sales department projection plans must always include input from Marketing and other functional areas like Production, Supply, Administration, Human Resources, etc. Advertising campaigns run during the time of Items’ consumption, and sales volume will be significantly affected by the predicted period, if any. Therefore, a considerable discrepancy will arise, causing problems for related activities like production, supply, logistics, human resources, finances, etc. If the sales department does not understand these programs and does not discuss and discuss them thoroughly with the marketing department, they only make forecasts based on their own sales ability and the market’s consumption capacity.
The close collaboration between marketing and sales is crucial for the success of both departments. That is why it’s essential for business owners and marketers to keep the sales team in mind.
From what we have seen, even if a product is widely advertised, distributed, and prominently displayed at the point of sale, but people still choose not to buy it, it will likely never be consumed. As a result, The marketing team is to blame. It is possible that marketing bungled a few things like:
Mistakes in the marketing plan’s first stages, such as inaccurate need identification and poor group selection, can have lasting effects.
- Mistakenly advertised at the wrong price
- Improperly distribution method
- Failures in marketing and public relations.
Fail at many processes at once or when the preceding phrases hold.
All your sales efforts will be for naught if marketing makes the incorrect decision. However, conversely, if Marketing does what needs to be done, but Sales doesn’t, i.e., if Sales does not implement it correctly or effectively, then none of the marketing campaigns is likely to be successful.
The firm will likely incur enormous losses if the sales and marketing departments cannot “clarify black and white” and “make peace” over their differences. Meetings between the marketing director and the sales manager are typically feisty, and we often find ourselves as meeting chairs. That does not worry us, and in fact, we think both sides must air their grievances openly so that we can resolve them. It is not uncommon for marketing to have valid concerns about sales initiatives and vice versa. The CEO or direct superior of sales and marketing must call a meeting (which may involve other departments) to listen to the perspectives of the two sides and examine information when there is a disagreement on an issue (such as a product, a product launch strategy, a promotion campaign, etc.).
The sales team frequently claims that the marketing does not provide enough support or that the assistance provided is ineffective. However, the marketing department frequently gripes that their programs are unsuccessful and a waste of money since sales do not put in enough effort, do not cover the items widely enough, do not disseminate enough categories, do not aggressively exhibit, do not strive to get “rout,” etc.
No matter what you say, the fact is that sales and marketing are inseparable components of every successful business. While technically part of different divisions, these two functions must be in perfect harmony for a business to run correctly.
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